Purpose: My motivation in this topic stems from my love of art. My apartment is covered with art that I have done, ranging from murals on my walls to painted T-shirts pinned up in the hallway. People are always asking me ‘how do you do that?’ I decided that I wanted to make a set of instructions for those who are slightly challenged when it comes to creativity. I am hoping that after my audience experiences these instructions, they will be inspired to create something for their living space and will feel less stuck when it comes to expressing their creative sides. The best outcome of these instructions would be that someone not only feels inspired but goes out and follows the instructions and creates something beautiful and maybe realizes a hidden talent. The worst would be that my instructions become too generic and therefore overwhelming.
Audience: My audience would be slightly challenged as far as creativity goes. They would be the type of person who would say ‘I wish I could paint something like that.’ They would have a blank canvas of walls and space to work with and would be proud of any art they have created; instead of thinking it doesn’t look that good. My audience would have the want to create; a feeling of pent up anxiety from lack of creation. When my audience comes across my instructions they are probably feeling a bit bored and looking for something to do. Or maybe they are looking for the right creative idea to spark their masterpiece waiting to happen.
Context: The communication can take place any time. Even at four in the morning. It is possible that the most creatively challenged person will wake up, anxious, late in the night and want to read my instructions and begin creating a beautiful piece of art. The most effective type of communication for this particular set of instructions would probably be on the internet or on paper; something that can be easily read and reread.
Strategies: The most important strategy I will probably use is creativity within my instruction layout. This will get the reader’s ‘creative juices’ flowing and will probably make my instructions look more legitimate. After all, a set of instructions about creativity and art that looks plain and boring would probably make no sense. I will need to also focus on getting the creatively challenged person to start thinking outside of their box. One strategy I will use in the beginning is written down exercises that person can do to start thinking more creatively or at least to start realizing the creativity surrounding him/her.
Medium: I will use a creative medium. This will help my topic and my audience. I think having something tangible would be best for my audience; maybe something with a different texture than just regular paper because I am trying to get them to think outside of their box.
Arrangement: I will start with opening my reader’s minds to creative thoughts. As far as art goes, I will make them think of locations and colors that would go well in their room and then have them think of ones that would not work. Then I will suggest ideas for the actual art (is something missing from their room that would be great, such as a coffee or bedside table that could be turned into a great piece of art). After going over the basics on art theory the audience should have a general idea of what they think will look best in their room and how they want to start their design. From there, it is basic guidance and what to do if they get stuck.
Testing: I would test my instruction set on a few friends who I know to have difficulties creating something artistic. I would also have people read it who are creative to see if they can help with any areas that might be lacking in specificity or other information.
Feedback
I think the audience was the most effective part of this design plan. I feel as though the characterictics of being non-creative was executed very well. I think the concrete audience has been solidified and that is a huge step in communicating.
In my opinion, every aspect of this design plan was covered very effectively; therefore, there are no noticeable faults or overlooked sections from my perspective.
It seems there is a correlation with the type of audience in which we are trying to communicate. For this design plan the creatively challenged audience is basically the same as beginners in my plan except for the obvious task being pursued.
I think that using different texture paper is an impeccable idea for medium to spark creativity.
Response
I think the Purpose section was the most in depth. You did a really nice job explaining just exactly how and why this instruction set will be useful to the audience.
I felt the least thorough section was the Medium. You wrote that you would use a "creative medium, perhaps something different than just regular paper..." That leaves a wide window open for possibilities.
This project is similar to mine because I am doing something creative too. I am having people use their creativity to create a picture frame, so that also leaves me the challenge to inspire my audience.
Maybe if this instruction set used an online video as a different source of medium it would be a way to mix things up a little. I feel that a different medium would open a window for several different opportunities for techniques and instructions for the audience.